Quick start not enough for Belding

By the middle of the first quarter, the momentum suddenly swung in Wyoming's favor Friday night against Belding.

The momentum stayed in the Wolves' favor the rest of the way.

Wyoming chalked up a 74-49 O-K Blue boys basketball triumph over the Redskins.Fernando Wade led Wyoming with 14 points while Cole Hart and Brendan Zuver paced the Redskin attack with 11 points apiece.

Brendan Zuver and Nick Price hit triples early in the game to give Belding an edge. But Wyoming's Lewi Vargas and Mark Jennings netted 3-pointers as the visitors countered with a 12-0 run and took a 19-10 lead after the first quarter.

"We were able to force a couple of turnovers," said Wyoming coach Thom Vander Klay. "We got a couple of easy layups that helped."

"Their pressure got to us," said Belding coach Jeff Wierzbicki. "We would break their press one possession and have a turnover the next possession and we couldn't get into a rhythm."

Wyoming continued to crash the boards well and take the advantage in the second quarter. Telson Jones had a 3-point play for the Redskins to cut the deficit to 26-15.

Kevin Graham had a putback for the Wolves and it was 36-21 at halftime.

Fernando Wade netted nine points in the first five minutes of the third quarter, sparking Wyoming to a 45-24 lead. The Wolves continued to frustrate the Redskin offense with its halfcourt pressure.

Bryce Wilker drove inside for a layup at 1:40 but the Wolves were comfortably ahead 50-28. Zuver hit a layup at the buzzer and it was 52-32 going into the fourth.

"They sent five guys for the offensive rebounds," Wierzbicki said. "There were a couple of times we couldn't get our hands on it. That started a run for them and it went from a 10-point to a 20-point game."

Kole Hart opened the fourth quarter with a 3-point play for Belding.

Nicholas Staten hit a jumper with 4:42 to play and Carlos Amoros added a triple seconds later to give the Wolves a commanding 65-38 lead.

"I was pleased with our execution other than traveling," VanderKlay said. "We traveled lots of times. We have to stop doing that. We gave up too many possessions on unforced turnovers."

Wyoming is 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the league. Belding, 1-3 in the league and 3-7 overall, plays Tuesday at Sparta.

"They're undefeated in conference," Wierzbicki said. "We're going in there looking to play better basketball than we did today and get better."